This invention relates to a cigarette package having an improved closure and more particularly to a closure for a cigarette package which is resealable.
Cigarettes are packaged for sale in rigid paper boxes and non-rigid paper containers referred to as “soft packs” wherein the cigarettes are packed quite tightly therein. Cigarette packages are generally provided with closures to provide access to the tightly packed cigarettes. However, many of these closures are hard to operate and the closures are not resealable after the initial opening of the pack. In many instances, closures or flaps covering the opening into the packages are torn off by the user because they interfere with the removal of cigarettes from the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,107,042 teaches a cigarette package having a flip open top wherein a portion of the front wall and the entirety of the top wall is exposed upon opening. In this design the entire front wall must be lifted and moved away from the package in order to expose the package contents.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,109,100 teaches a cigarette soft-pack wherein the top flaps are unfoldable in order to expose the package contents. As is shown in FIG. 1, a small rectangular area of the package top wall is exposed along with the various fold areas of the top wall of the package. The top wall is additionally removably sealed to the front wall for repeated opening and closing. However, as is shown in FIG. 1, the top wall must be unfolded thereby exposing the left and right triangular folds constituting the top wall. Such design thereby weakens the top wall potentially allowing the entire top wall area to open and allow the contents of the package to be inadvertently dispensed.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,445,001 teaches a cigarette hard box having a resealable top opening. As is shown in FIG. 2, the top opening is exposed by removal of the entire top wall surface. Below this top wall surface is a circular opening exposing the contents of the cigarette hard box. Again the top wall is resealable with the cigarette box but requires the entire top wall to be moved away from the opening. Such a design weakens the top wall structure thereby exposing the side flaps which support the remaining top wall surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,944,796 teaches that one end of the top wall is hinged to expose either the left or right half of the cigarette contents. Thus, the entire half of the top wall is removable for access to the package contents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,804 teaches a soft cut pack for cigarettes having a resealable top flap. The top flap also contains both left and right triangular areas which constitute a portion of the top wall thereby removing a large triangular section of the top wall and showing contents therein. The top flap of the reference is resealable to the soft cut pack. The soft cut pack also has a lift out strip 47 for raising the front cigarettes for easy removal. This is shown in FIG. 4.